Wieters closes in on his return

Matt Wieters continues to make progress and today ran the bases earlier here at Camden Yards to test his right hamstring strain.

“It went well. It was no (bad) feeling at all. The only difference is you’ve got to get used to getting the stride right to where you’re not going to hit the base. But other than that, everything felt really good.

“Yeah, barring any setbacks (I should be back Sunday). Right now I feel good and I was out there doing some catch and stuff, and everything feels fine.”

Did Wieters run full speed today?

“I wouldn’t say I was full speed, but I was probably 80-90 percent pretty easy. It felt good running. The only thing that’s going to have to be a little bit of an adjustment still is making sure I get the strides and everything right so I hit the base right.

“It definitely is going to wear the legs a little bit (catching). But I don’t think it will be much of a factor as getting stretched out, the tired factor seeing I haven’t been doing it. So hopefully I’ve been able to get enough conditioning in the last 15 days to keep it going.”

Wieters had a five-game hitting streak, going 7 for 18 at the time of the injury. He had actually raised his average from .222 to .245 over a three-week stretch. Modest numbers to be sure, but it least his average was heading in the right direction.

What have his days been like since his DL trip began on July 10.

“The first five or six (days) were just get it completely better, try to stay off it as much as possible, get the treatment in and now it’s just trying to keep the reps and keep endurance up so when I come back, I’ll be ready to go.

“It should definitely help with the break. It’s not a break you want, but it’s something that can help you. It’s also something where I first come back, you’re going to have to try to slow yourself down. I haven’t felt fresh since the beginning of the year, so it’s going to be a different feeling.”

Right now, Wieters said he doesn’t forsee anything with the hamstring that could be an issue and he should be activated on Sunday.

“No, it’s doing things that are awkward because I haven’t been running in 10 days or so. So it’s strange. Running you have to relearn a little bit, but other than that everything feels good.

“Never had this before, had a little cramping in the minors, on the 7-day DL down there, but never had to go on 15-day before.”